Is Bryan Price the Best Choice to Lead Cincinnati Reds into Future?

The Cincinnati Reds hired pitching coach Bryan Price to be their new manager on Monday, replacing Dusty Baker.

After firing Baker in early October, the Reds knew that they would need a new skipper. And it turns out that the team has decided to stay in-house with this move, promoting Price instead of hiring a manager from outside the organization.

However, Price will get his chance starting in the 2014 season, as he's been given the keys to the kingdom in Cincinnati.

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Price has worked as a pitching coach in MLB since 2000, when he joined the Seattle Mariners. He worked with the M's through the 2005 season, after which he joined the Arizona Diamondbacks through 2009.

In 2010, the Reds hired Price to be their new pitching coach. He quickly turned around a staff that ranked seventh, 13th and 15th in ERA before he arrived. The team has finished seventh, 12th, third and fourth in the National League in ERA since he took over, and he has been a terrific coach outside of one bad season.

It should come as little surprise, therefore, that Price's staff had only good things to say about him.

I think he'd be unbelievable. He's as organized as anyone in the game, he holds people as accountable as well as anyone I've seen. He doesn't buy into stereotypical things in the game, things that other people buy into that I don't feel are relevant. Price looks at evidence. He's a freaking smart guy, he makes his decision on reasonable evidence. Sometimes in baseball we go by hunches, what someone else said or they way things have gone in the past. He doesn't do that.

It isn't just players who think that Price will fit in, either:

I think Price will make a good manager. Very good with the media. Has a dry sense of humor. Pitchers love him. #reds

The Reds and their fans appear to be excited by what Price can bring to this team in his new role, and with good reason.

Speculation has been floating around that Price is the right man for the job since Baker was fired on Oct. 4. ESPN1530 called him the "logical choice" in early October, while C. Trent Rosecrans of the CincinnatiEnquirer speculated that he would be a good fit as recently as Sunday.

The fact of the matter is that Price is a great fit for the managerial job in Cincy.

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The Reds have a good thing going right now, having made it to the postseason this year. Firing Baker wasn't all that surprising, but the team is still in a good position, and it makes sense to hire from within in order to preserve the team's chemistry and clubhouse mentality.

Price has also brought success to Cincy like very few pitching coaches can, and having him in charge will certainly help the team as it moves forward, as he is certainly good enough to succeed in his new role.

The question still remains, however: Is Price the right fit for the Reds?